Training Junior Recruiters

I have been in the recruiting field for 15 years and I am curious to discuss and hear the successes and failures of others as they train junior level recruiters. My company is hiring a few junior recruiters specializing in Information Technology. I appreciate any advice that can be shared.

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As junior recruiter who has been thrown to the wolves to figure it out on her own, this is really helpful. I've been pretty lucky so far in that I'm working with some people with oodles of experience, but they are not the best of trainers. It's only by luck, and deep knowledge of the tech industry, that I'm making placements so quickly. I know I have so much more to learn. I'll be looking into these resources today!

Are new recriuters trained in how to obtain a pre-employment screening, why it is done, all of the laws that apply such as FCRA, DPPA, and HIPPA, etc.? What is a CRA? The information a completed report should contain. If this an area of concern, I will be glad to help.

Teach them to LISTEN carefully and not to be afraid to ask questions. Give them a list of qualifying or screening questions to ask candidates. Make sure they document their findings. Conduct role playing with them, this is an excellent way for them to learn and hone their skills. IT is a specialized field, I have been doing it for 22 years and am still learning. I suggest that you teach them the basics of IT including buzzwords commonly uses but don't overwhelm them. Have them bookmark www.whatis.com which is a very good source for IT terms and definitions. Have them interview or listen in on conversations with a more senior level recruiter. You could have them shadow you for a day to see what it is like. Have them setup a LinkedIn profile, join user groups and begin to network with people.

Have them listen in to other recruiters calls and absorb things. This can be a great source of learning. There are some really good trainers out there if you have the budget for it.

I learned by doing. Getting on the phones often and staying on the phone. IT people often love to talk about technology. Tell your newbies to let candidates know they are new and that they are eager to learn. No one person knows everything about the IT field.

Make sure they are disciplined. Give them some scripts to work with. Teach them to do reference checks. This can help them to build their confidence on the phone while not feeling that they are in a sales mode. Newbies tend to go off course. Make sure you are there to help them succeed. Be available to them.

I did that same training last January! Definitely got my year off to a great start. 2010 ended up being far better than I anticipated and am looking forward to what 2011 will bring.

Another trainer I'd recommend is Danny Cahill. He has a rookie training coming up in March that is a two day training all the basics. When I hired someone this year, I sent her to this training asap and it gives a solid foundation and really emphasizes the importance of planning, metrics, and being on the phone.

Jack Roth said:

I concur with Pam. I have been doing this a long time and each year go back to Leffkowitz for training just to refresh and calibrate my skills and mostly because hes inspiring. Just did a two day training in NYC with him this week and I am so psyched for 2011.

There is no better core training for a new recruiter. The most important factor will be on how to use the phone and source for names and how to recruit candidates with that info. Webinars are no where near as effective. Peter is a fantastic teacher and I highly recommend his course. Pay the money its NOTHING compared to the results. Worst case buys his DVD's.

Hi Pam we were at the same seminar. Hello again! Danny is good too. I've assessed his training but haven't gone to a seminar. I think I may in the spring

pam claughton said:

Hey Jack,

I did that same training last January! Definitely got my year off to a great start. 2010 ended up being far better than I anticipated and am looking forward to what 2011 will bring.

Another trainer I'd recommend is Danny Cahill. He has a rookie training coming up in March that is a two day training all the basics. When I hired someone this year, I sent her to this training asap and it gives a solid foundation and really emphasizes the importance of planning, metrics, and being on the phone.

Jack Roth said:

I concur with Pam. I have been doing this a long time and each year go back to Leffkowitz for training just to refresh and calibrate my skills and mostly because hes inspiring. Just did a two day training in NYC with him this week and I am so psyched for 2011.

There is no better core training for a new recruiter. The most important factor will be on how to use the phone and source for names and how to recruit candidates with that info. Webinars are no where near as effective. Peter is a fantastic teacher and I highly recommend his course. Pay the money its NOTHING compared to the results. Worst case buys his DVD's.

I agree with Jack, Pam and others in regards to having recruiters of all levels but especially Jr recruiters partake in Peter Leffkowitz training. AIRS training would also help with sourcing aspect of the position to help develop more leads/contacts/candidates.

I have been in recruiting for 33 years and have built four successful personally owned recruiting firms. I have co-created over 450 franchised and mainly, independent firms. I have trained hundreds of corporate/company recruiters. The biggest challenge is not in training entry level recruiters. It is selecting the best people for the role. That definition is based upon both experience and personal characteristics. A widely held, but inaccurate assumption is that if someone has sales experience, they have a leg up on anyone else in becoming a successful recruiter. I attached an ebook that should be helpful in finding, evaluating and selecting great recruiter potential talent. We are facing a huge talent shortfall and having skilled recruiters who can perform recruiting as a contact effort versus a keyboard effort. If anyone wants more insight about recruiter training, join the free introductory session tomorrow at 1PM ET and sign up at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/836597432

The Art of the Recruiting Masters classes are the only live and fully interactive, web-based classes for both third-party and corporate recruiters. Check out the details at: www.RecruiterElearning.com, watch the streaming intro and sign up for the course!

I have been in the recruiting, training, leading, managing and running a business field for 35 years. Here's what I have had reinforced (I knew it back then but didn't really believe it) over the years. Hire for attitude and personality, train for skills. You can't turn an HR Generalist into a Recruiter if they don't have the personality attributes for persistence in the face of adversity, creativity, honesty, empathy, and good ol' hard work. You can train for how to use the database you're using, or the interview guide you want them to follow. You can train them how to use the phones. But if they aren't hunters they won't enjoy the work and you will end up letting them go. That's my two cents (what is that worth these days, since I'm Canadian, it's worth more today than it was yesterday).

I have trained hundreds of recruiters to work as contract Sourcers and Recruiters in the Silicon Valley. My program has two major components, one is HR & Recruiting topics, including role playing. The second component is training in high tech technologies. The minimum training period I like to provide is 4 weeks, at a full time basis. The training for a 3rd party or agency recruiter is one category, and the set of skills for somebody who will work inhouse for corporate clients as a FTE or Contractor is entrely different.

Recruiting is a discipline involving the coordination of a mass of details. It's about creating and managing expectations with a sense of urgency. Focus. Attention controls matter in the molecular state.

I have provided training in various segments to clients who want a shorter customized version. I am a big believer in giving the Trainee a 360 degree perspective. What they don't use today, they may use in 5 years.

I have trained newbies (NCGs), coordinators, schedulers, HR Assistants, as well as engineers and S&M folks wanting to make a career change.

Too many contract recruiters and sourcers who work for corporate clients today, do not go through a well defined training program and lack a well rounded foundation, and many of them don't have a clue about sourcing and cold calling or warm calling. They are order takers, employment process managers.

The value of mentoring isunderrated. Anybody can read a book and learn scripts. Knowledge is freeely and widely available. Every now and then, we may stumble on somebody for whom this self education is sufficient. Most of us will do immeasurably better with the mentoring of somebody who has been there before, and forces the student to think and learn, not just do. What is the value of a mentor? It can be summarized in this - you do not need to have a cold to know they are bad for you.

I always found that giving them a mentor in the organisation who wasn't their direct line manager was a great way of encouraging them to ask the "silly" questions but also to learn from. This obviously only works if the mentor actually wants to do it and their personalities match.